Daily News Update

Welsh counties topped the rankings for progress in both solar and onshore wind developments in the last year.

Green Alliance’s leaderboard of counties in England and Wales that have made the largest renewable energy improvements is headed by Gwynedd for solar and Mid Glamorgan for onshore wind.

Despite the two Welsh counties coming first on each list, most new solar installations took place in counties around the East of England. Most wind projects were installed in the East Midlands and North-West of England.

The think tank’s results showed Cambridgeshire in the top three for both categories. It built 235MW of onshore wind capacity, enough to power more than 146,000 homes.

Lesley Griffiths, Welsh Government Cabinet Secretary for the Environment and Rural Affairs, said: “I am pleased Wales is leading the way in the UK on progress in wind and solar power.

“We have committed to supporting the development of more renewable energy projects in our Programme for Government and this progress clearly supports our decarbonisation agenda. These technologies provide affordable low carbon energy, which can help secure a smarter energy future for Wales.”